Crystal River current., 1887-02-19
EXPLORING ALASKA.
L4AeuE etensy's Travels Through an
Interesting Country-Natlve Gus
toms and Language.

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Interesting Country-Nstive Gus
toms and Language
4 correspondent to The NeD York
Herald with the northern Alaska ex-
pl0ring expedition, at Oonalaska, Sept
70, 1856, writes: We landed at Pipe
Spit, Hetham inlet, on July IL. 1885,
and moved eighteen months provisions
three hundred miles up the Putnam
river, making two trips with the steam
er Explorer. We left one years pro-
visions cached at the Spit, established.
winter quarters at Fort Cosmos, built a
log house forty-sevcn by thirty-nine
with a seven-foot wall underground;
slabbed logs with saw-mill cut five
thousand feet of lumber for the roof.
echinked the logs with moss. and lined
the house with canvas. II was very
comfortable.
We moved in on Sept. 25, 1885. The
river froze on Oct. 1 and broke on
june 10, 1856. The mean thickness Of
the ice was six feet. The. lowest
temperature was seventy degrees be-
low zero. Fahrenheit. in January at
the fort. We made accurate meteorol-
ogical and astronomical observations
of all phenomena recorded.
Early in December Lieut.. Stoney and
Ensingn Howard commenced sledging
n0rthward and westward. They
crossed the Nortok river, and finding
its head waters, sledged to the noun
tains beyond. They found numerous
lakes, and river flowing into the Col
VILE There are may natives in the
mountains who never saw white man
before. During January and February
Passed Assistant Engineer Zane sledged
to st. Michael's and returned over one
Thousand miles of mostly new country.
ue made a rough survey between the
Putnam and Yukon rivers.
During the journey Lieut. Stoney
s,cdged over the country between Fort
Cosmos and Selewick lake and river.
This river is quite extensive. In March
Ensign Read sledged part of the Put
nam river valley and found hot springs.
During march Lieut.. Stoney sledged
Rorthward and eastward, intending to
cross the Arctic ocean. They sledged
Gwcnty-three days, reaching the limit
of the mountains. Then the natives
would 60 no further. They were short
of food at times and were obliged to
depend upon the country. The natives
aafd that in the spring they would cross
and take him with them, but could not
return until the following winter. He
made arrangements for two white men
to go with them. He reached Fort
Cosmos on April 8.
On April u Eusign Howard, with
Price. the carpenter. and the mate.
started with all the provisions that the
s3eds could carry. They found the ma
dves. and accompanied them to the
coast. They reached the latter sixty
smi1es eastward of Point Barrow on
June 25. They were detained there by
ice until July y, but reached the point
ON the 10Th. when they found white
men stationed there for trading and
whaling They were ninety-six days
in crossing.
Ensign Howard found the head wa
tiers and sledgcd several days on the
Colville river. He found a new river.
on which he foated to the Arctic
ocean. Alaska north of the mountain
GUS limit is barren plain, which it is
only possible to cross in the spring and
fall when the game crosses. The par
Gy were on Indian food for two months,
and sometimes short of that. There
was very heavy ice in the Arctic ocean
this season.
The whalers had reached Point Bar
row on Aug. II. the steamer Bear on
the 23th. Ensign Howard found ma
tives going down the Colville river to
the ocean. Some of these go east to
Herschel island and Cape Bathurst,
communicating there with the Hudson
bay natives. Some natives went with
him down this new river to the coast
for the purpose of trading with the
, whalers, and some to Point Barrow.
Others remain in the mountains all
summer.
These natives sledge to the eastward
every year, going one season and re-
turning the next. They are two years
on the round trip. There is thus regu-
EAR native communication east and
west and north and south. Some na-
sives fear each other and will not COM
r1iunicate. There are no tribes and no